After some not so fun goodbyes (can we call them see-you-laters?) and some very sweet texts, I was finally off to make this dream a reality. I dropped off my luggage and made it to the gate with no problems. Amber and I played a little game of hide and seek, as we were trying to find each other at the gate without know what the other looked like. But we finally found each other and, boy, we were (are!) so glad to have each other. Its scary enough to do this, but doing it along would make it so much harder. Before long we were boarding and after a little bit of passport drama, we were off. We were able to get a guy to change seats with Amber so the two of us were able to sit together. After The Internship, Argo, The Secret Life of Bees, and half of The Shawshank Redemption, we were in Amsterdam. The airport there was interesting. Each gate had its own baggage check station. There were no seats outside the gate and not nearly enough on the inside. So, we claimed a spot on the floor and waited and waited and waited. There was a cut little girl that kept us entertained and, unfortunately, awake. At one point, they announced the flight would be delayed by 25 minutes but it turned into more like an hour. We eventually got on the plane (my first double-decker plane) and were off again... another 8 hour flight. I was really hoping for more sleep on this second leg but still really struggled. I maybe got 3 hours, 4 if we are being extremely generous. Regardless, I had Les Miserables, We’re The Millers, and an episode of Criminal Minds and NCIS to keep me entertained. Because of the delay we were really cutting it close to make it on the next flight but make it we did. Although the shortest of the three, only about an hour long, it was also the roomiest. So after 3 flights, many movies, attempts at sleeping, and a meal for every time zone it went through it seemed, we were in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania! It was nice and cool in Nairobi but Dar definitely brought the heat. The visa process was relatively easy. We payed and went right through to pick up our luggage. The conveyor belts were not even turned on; there was just a pile of luggage in the floor. Only it wasn’t all the luggage.... My hiking backpack was missing. So I went to a desk and talked with a lady about my luggage and how I could get it. Luckily I kept the luggage tag and Steven (our taxi driver) came to help me out with a little Swahili. I handled this little mishap really well and wasn’t too surprised when I didn’t see it. Let’s face it, it would of had to make it through 2 transfer when there were hundred and hundreds of people on two of the planes. Anyways, I did tell them that I thought someone else had accidentally grabbed mine instead of theirs because there was another backpack that was a little similar. Anyways, I left with their phone number in hand to call the next day to see if they had found it. After the little detour, I was finally able to go through the final and extremely nonchalant baggage check and meet Kim. She was so incredibly nice and welcoming and extremely surprised at how chipper and awake Amber and I were. We weren’t really sure why we were that way but I think the excitement of finally making it and being in AFRICA helped. By a little luck, there were 3 current volunteers that were making their way through Dar back to their placement staying at our hotel that night. Although there bus was leaving at 5 the next morning, they all stayed awake to greet us around 1! They were so awesome. Refreshing, encouraging, inspiring, welcoming. We made it to our rooms (freshman year all over). I unpacked my little travel duffel and was surprised to find pretty much everything I needed... tshirts and shorts, toiletries, underwear, and skirts and dressed. We joked that I didn’t even need the other bag! I also got my first chance to use a squat toilet. This one was fancy enough to have a lever that you could pull down to flush it. Forget the porcelain bowl... its basically a porcelain hole in the ground with places to put your feet instead of your butt - look it up. Anyways, I went downstairs and talked with two other volunteers for a little while and then finally returned to the room to hit the sack. No complaints but sleeping under a mosquito net (especially when your 6 feet tall) in a rather warm climate is quite difficult.
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